Johnny Depp last appeared as Jack Sparrow in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Picture: Rex Feature)
Johnny Depp would be welcomed back to Pirates of the Caribbean with open arms – well, at least by one man.
The 59-year-old actor famously starred as the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow in five instalments of the blockbuster Pirates franchise between 2003 and 2017.
A Disney executive previously confirmed Johnny was no longer a part of the series with writers wanting to bring in ‘new energy’, and the actor himself said he had no desire to return.
It came amid Johnny’s bitter and highly-publicised libel trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, which is also believed to have cost him his role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
However, Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer has said he would be more than happy for the Edward Scissorhands star to reprise his role.
‘I would love to have him in the movie. He’s a friend, a terrific actor and it’s unfortunate that personal lives creep into everything we do,’ the filmmaker admitted.
Johnny previously said no amount of money could bring him back to the role of Sparrow (Picture: Disney/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
Johnny’s career faltered as he battled various legal issues (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)
When asked if Disney were likely to bring Johnny back in a ‘front and centre’ role given his triumph in the libel trial this summer, Jerry told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘You’d have to ask them. I can’t answer that question. I really don’t know.’
He added when asked if Sparrow would be killed off: ‘You can’t. We tried to kill him. It didn’t work.’
Johnny previously stated that ‘nothing on this earth’, not even ‘$300million and a million alpacas’ could entice him to return in another film.
In 2018, Disney production chief Sean Bailey confirmed that Depp was no longer a part of the franchise’s future plans.
He told THR at the time: ‘We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason (writers) Paul (Wernick) and Rhett (Reese) are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that’s what I’ve tasked them with.’
Jerry Bruckheimer, who produces the Pirates franchise, has hailed Johnny as a ‘terrific actor’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Johnny and ex-wife Amber Heard have finally settled their legal issues (Picture: FilmMagic)
Johnny made his debut as Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, with the films going on to gross a reported $4.5billion (£3.4bn) worldwide.
He went on to reprise his role in sequels Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At World’s End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), and reportedly earned $300m (£230m) in that time.
The A Nightmare on Elm Street actor took legal action against ex-wife Amber over an op-ed she wrote in 2018, in which she discussed being a survivor of domestic abuse.
His lawyers successfully argued that, while he was not named in the Washington Post piece, it implied that he was physically and sexually violent over the course of their marriage, which he strongly denied.
After a jury ruled in his favour, Johnny and Amber filed separate appeals on the verdict but have now settled their legal issues – with the Aquaman actress paying her former partner $1m (£822,000).
Johnny responded saying he was ‘pleased to formally close the door on this painful chapter’.
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Johnny has not been asked back by Disney following his libel trial with Amber Heard.
